Some of my earliest memories of DeBaliviere were when we lived at 5650 Clemens [around 1930]. My father would give me a ride jumping off a large back porch. We would sleep on a blanket in the back yard.
I arose early one morning and walked over the gangway past Glazier’s Hardware to a jewelry store on Delmar, just west of DeBaliviere, to wait for the store to open. The owner would give me candy. I was 4 years old.
Later, my mother would send me to Moll’s Bakery to bring home a loaf of fresh bakery bread. As I carried the bag home, my nose was over the bread. A heel was usually missing by the time I arrived home.
In the early forties, I rode my brother’s bicycle over to Forest Park where I played tournament tennis. On the way home, there were two places to buy ice cream—Velvet Freeze on the east and Green Lea on the west side of DeBaliviere.
Later, I discovered the wonderful back room of Garavelli’s at Pershing, with sawdust on the floor and a line where you could watch the server carve humongous slices of beef or ham for a sandwich. If I had a generous date, we would eat in the main dining room with a two-story atrium and outstanding walnut paneling.
On Sunday afternoon I went to the matinee at the Apollo Theatre on DeBaliviere or the Pageant on Delmar.
The Ice Skating Club at Blewett High School went to the Winter Garden. Mr. Bockelbrink was our patient teacher sponsor. After skating, we descended on Parkmoor, on the west side of DeBaliviere at Pershing, to listen to the juke box and dance in the aisles. Some thought it cool to smoke and wave around a cigarette, often with uncool results.
We had an excellent art teacher, Mr. F. Arthur Krause, at Blewett HS. One of my paintings of speed skaters at the Winter Garden hung at the City Art Museum.
On the west side of the street at Delmar, I often watched a Chinese lady stir fry our fresh dinner in a large wok.
With Mark Kay Burke or Patsy Daly, I would walk over DeBaliviere, sit in the free seats, and walk home late at night.
Often, when walking over to ice skate, I would stop in the Barrel Bar on Delmar to visit with my brother, Tom. It was across the street from Golden Fried Chicken Loaf, just west of Clara, where you could purchase a wonderful, fresh, whole fried chicken in a loaf of fresh bread.
DeBaliviere was the grand entrance to the 1904 World’s Fair and is today the great entry to Forest Park.
Original newspaper source
Originally published in The Times of Skinker-DeBaliviere, September–October 2013.
Read this article in the original newspaper issue.
